The Little Mistress

Yao Chen sat calmly in the medicinal bath furnace, his eyes slightly closed.

Threads of Dou Qi spread from his body like countless fine strands, methodically absorbing the medicinal properties within the bath furnace on their own. Every trace of medicinal power was precisely guided into his meridians and sent where it needed to go, without wasting even the slightest bit.

With that composed demeanor, he looked less like he was soaking in a medicinal bath painful enough to make one wish for death and more like he was relaxing in a pool of warm spring water.

Lin Yu, on the other hand, was even more unruffled. His breathing was steady and deep, his eyes lightly closed, as though an old monk deep in meditation.

Feng Xian's eyes widened, the expression on his face shifting constantly between agony and shock until his whole face twisted.

"Y-You... why aren't you in pain?" he nearly roared.

Hearing this, Yao Chen slowly opened his eyes and blinked. There was a touch of confusion in his voice, as if he could not understand why Feng Xian would ask such a question. "I am."

His answer was as casual as if he were commenting on the pleasant weather.

"Then why aren't you screaming?!" Feng Xian clawed fiercely at his scalp, his nails digging into his hair roots as if he wanted to rip the entire thing off. He cried hoarsely.

"Why would I scream?" Yao Chen tilted his head, looking so earnest that he clearly was not joking.

"It hurts!?" Feng Xian's voice cracked.

"Oh." Yao Chen nodded as if he had finally understood, then said calmly in the tone of someone speaking from experience, "You get used to it."

Feng Xian felt his vision go dark. Get used to it?

How could anyone get used to the agony of having their bones crushed one by one and then pieced back together?

He stood there with his mouth open for a long while, unable to say anything. Then he abruptly turned toward Lin Yu, looking at him almost pleadingly, hoping for an answer from a normal person.

Sensing Feng Xian's gaze, Lin Yu did not even raise his eyelids. He merely said calmly, "My soul power is strong enough to suppress it."

The muscles in Feng Xian's face twitched violently twice.

One was used to it, and the other was enduring it through sheer soul power. Where had these two monsters come from?

He stared blankly at the calm Yao Chen to his left, then at the grim-faced Lin Yu to his right. Finally, he looked down at his own hands, veins bulging as they shook like sieves, and completely gave up struggling.

"Ahhh—This hurts like hell!!!"

A shrill scream rang out from the cave, startling a flock of birds from the forest.

Feng Xian no longer cared about saving face. He threw back his head and wailed at the top of his lungs, his voice piercing through the cave and carrying far down the valley, startling the beasts by the stream into pricking up their ears and looking around.

Even as Feng Xian howled, he continued circulating his Dou Qi to absorb the medicinal power. Though his cries were heart-rending, he showed no intention whatsoever of climbing out of the bath furnace.

Because he knew exactly how great the benefits of this medicinal bath were.

Pain was pain, but it was worth it. The two did not conflict.

A rich medicinal fragrance filled the cave before spilling from its entrance, drifting farther and farther with the mountain wind until it gradually faded.

In this remote mountain forest, the medicinal scent mingled with the sulfurous smell of the hot springs, so it was not particularly conspicuous. Ordinary magical beasts would not find anything unusual upon smelling it.

However, downwind of the mountain breeze, a Little Demon that resembled a pangolin was crawling silently through a bed of fallen leaves.

The faint medicinal scent, nearly dispersed by the mountain wind, had nowhere to hide from its large nose.

It closed its eyes, its nostrils twitching rapidly several times. Intense nerve signals flooded its extraordinary olfactory center, automatically separating every component of the medicinal fragrance in its mind.

The pangolin Little Demon abruptly opened its eyes, a glint flashing through its pea-sized pupils.

"It's an alchemist! I must report this to Master!"

It muttered to itself in a sharp, thin voice, tinged with excitement.

The pangolin did not hesitate any longer. Its two foreclaws plunged fiercely into the soil beneath its feet.

A hundred miles away stood a majestic mountain shaped like a crouching tiger.

At its foot, the terrain was level, and countless orderly medicinal fields had been cultivated, planted with every variety of herbs.

Further up from the mountain's base, the mountainside was a bustling construction site.

Several hundred human cultivators labored there. Some carried thick stone pillars, some carved patterns into the stonework of a great hall atop scaffolding, while others pushed wheelbarrows loaded with sand, mud, and bricks.

The weakest among them were Dou Shi, and there were no lack of Da Dou Shi experts among them.

Yet now, these experts had been enslaved here, doing the grueling construction work ordinarily done by common laborers.

There was not even a single overseer around, yet none of these experts dared to run.

A foul wind suddenly swept down from the mountaintop, carrying an intense magical beast aura.

It was a gigantic bear more than two zhang tall. Moving on all fours, every step made the ground tremble slightly as it charged straight toward the human cultivators at work.

Just then, several whip cracks exploded through the air.

A slender figure suddenly appeared atop the giant bear's head like a ghost.

The soft whip in her hand snapped sharply through the air as she shouted, "Stupid bear, these people are on our side! If you dare touch them with one paw, you'll be eating bear paws for dinner today! If you use two paws, you'll be eating bear gallbladder! Get lost already!"

The giant bear shook its enormous head pitifully and let out low whimpers from its throat. Like a child who had done something wrong, it shrank its neck and slowly retreated, its massive body quickly disappearing into the forest.

The young girl landed lightly on the ground, her bare feet touching the bluestone platform. Her crimson dress fluttered slightly in the mountain wind.

She smiled sweetly and waved her little hand at the human Da Dou Shi who had stopped working nearby. Her clear voice was like stream water rushing through a mountain ravine. "Don't be afraid. I'll protect you. As long as you finish building this great hall, I'll definitely pay you well and send you back to the human cities afterward. That was our agreement."

She received only silence in response.

The human Da Dou Shi forced out ugly smiles. On their faces, caked with sweat and dust, those smiles looked even worse than tears.

What could they say? "Thank you, Young Mistress"? Or "We really want to go home"? No one dared say anything.

They complained inwardly—on a construction project this enormous, it would be far quicker to capture ordinary humans who specialized in construction than to make Dou Shi and Da Dou Shi like them do the work.

But who would dare say that aloud?

The last time someone had failed to read the situation, relying on his peak Da Dou Shi cultivation to step forward and say a few "inappropriate" things.

Before he could even finish speaking, the drooling giant bear beside him slapped him into a meat patty. Even now, the people present went weak in the legs whenever they remembered that scene.

The giant bear had moved so fast that even a Da Dou Shi could not react. With one swipe, the man had been flattened against the bluestone ground like a fly, without even having time to scream.

After that, no one dared utter a single word of refusal. They obediently carried stones and carved decorations, not daring to show even the slightest dissatisfaction.

"Very good. Hmm? Little Jia is back. Keep working."

Hu Jiujiu nodded in satisfaction, not caring in the slightest about the stiff smiles on the humans' faces.

She turned and skipped toward the side, her crimson skirt drawing a cheerful arc through the air.

A pangolin demon abruptly appeared in midair and dropped to the ground, rolling twice before steadying itself.

This pangolin demon was much larger than the Little Demon from before, standing nearly half a person's height. Its scales gleamed with a metallic luster, while fresh soil and stone chips still clung to its claws.

It crouched obediently before its little mistress, its two foreclaws properly resting against its chest, looking exactly like a hunting dog awaiting orders.